Tommy Tainant
Diamond Member
This appeals court just granted former felons in Florida a big win for voting rights
For a moment after the 2018 midterm elections, it seemed that 1.6 million Floridians (or roughly 25% of the nation’s disenfranchised formerly incarcerated population) would get back their right to vote via Amendment 4, also known as the Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative. Upon being convicted of a felony, residents in Florida are barred from voting, but Amendment 4, which was approved in the 2018 vote, was set to do away with this practice of disenfranchisement.
Instead, in June 2019, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed legislation proposed by the state’s Republican Party that would institute an effective poll tax. The bill made it so that people with past felony convictions couldn't vote until they paid off any financial penalties associated with their conviction, like court costs and other fines. Of course, many returning citizens don't have the spare cash on hand to pay fees — even small ones — and the financial burden in that case is enough to once again deny them their vote.
The authoritarian US expends a lot of energy trying to deny people the right to vote. I suspect that there is a cynical pragmatic aspect to this.
For a moment after the 2018 midterm elections, it seemed that 1.6 million Floridians (or roughly 25% of the nation’s disenfranchised formerly incarcerated population) would get back their right to vote via Amendment 4, also known as the Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative. Upon being convicted of a felony, residents in Florida are barred from voting, but Amendment 4, which was approved in the 2018 vote, was set to do away with this practice of disenfranchisement.
Instead, in June 2019, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed legislation proposed by the state’s Republican Party that would institute an effective poll tax. The bill made it so that people with past felony convictions couldn't vote until they paid off any financial penalties associated with their conviction, like court costs and other fines. Of course, many returning citizens don't have the spare cash on hand to pay fees — even small ones — and the financial burden in that case is enough to once again deny them their vote.
The authoritarian US expends a lot of energy trying to deny people the right to vote. I suspect that there is a cynical pragmatic aspect to this.